Kick-off of the 4th Islamic Conference: German Muslims' difficult self-image

Today begins the 4th conference on Islam. Minister of the Interior, Mr Seehofer, wants to exert influence abroad on the subject. But there is also a fundamental question: what could a "German Islam" look like?

By Ulrich Pick, SWR

Secretary of State for the Interior, Markus Kerber, is the man to whom converge the threads of the German conference on Islam. The native Swabian relies on continuity and conversation. The meeting's primary goal is to promote dialogue among Muslims living in Germany and among themselves, he said. "And secondly, the hope that out of this dialogue, from this discussion develops a self-image, a self-image of Muslims living in Germany, which was until now untraceable."

Associations represent only a minority of Muslims

But at the conference of Islam all Muslims are represented in Germany. This is not easy though. Indeed, there are large traditional conservative umbrella organizations, Ditib, the Central Council, the Islamic Council and the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers. But they represent only 20 to 25% of Muslims. The majority is not organized.

"We require you to work with us"

This also applies to most liberal and lay-oriented Muslims. Among them are rather strong individuals and smaller circles. "We have the" League of Liberal Muslims ", we have" secular Muslims "and we also have the" Islam Forum in Germany "and they all have the same goals, but they can not do it. sit around a table "Abdel-Hakim Ourghi, Islamic scholar from Freiburg, regrets.

He finally asks that we try to found an umbrella organization as a contact for the state: "This does not mean that we reject the conservative umbrella organizations, but we force them by the fact that they must also work with us. "

Liberal Muslims lack an umbrella organization

The problem of liberal Muslims is that they do not have a representative organization. For traditional umbrella organizations, it is political attachment to foreign countries. Because most of them do not only get their money, but also their imams. But it is problematic. Because this support does not only create dependencies. In the end, this undermines genuine integration in Germany.

For example, the badociation of Ditib mosques, the German branch of the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs, has become more and more the mouthpiece of Turkish politics in recent years. Some of the badociation's imams, who are all Turkish officials, even spied on political opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on German soil.

Targeted influence from abroad

Therefore, Susanne Schröter, director of the "Global Islam" research center at the University of Frankfurt am Main, insists that the dependence of Islamic badociations on foreign countries be stopped on the same day. as soon as possible: "Because the officials with whom we talk are not independent get them from abroad because you can withdraw their money if they lean too far out the window." Targeted influence of foreign forces by money, personnel and ideology should therefore become one of the most important topics of the ongoing Islam Conference.

What could a "German Islam" look like?

Added to this is the search for the self-understanding of Muslims living here. "Our wish is that Muslims living in Germany develop and apply their own interpretation of their faith, their cultural self-determination, rooted in the German language, in German culture," said State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kerber. "It would ultimately be an Islam of Muslims living in Germany or even a German Islam – no matter what you call it."

However, it remains to be clarified what exactly is meant by a German Islam: is it necessary to speak of a purely valid Islam for the territory of the German State and which exists, so to speak, disconnected from the rest of the Muslim world? ? It should hardly be possible. Because Islam is a world religion and continues to develop beyond the borders of the Federal Republic.

Instead, Islamic principles, values ​​and attitudes should be integrated into German society. "This means an understanding of Islam, in which one is unyielding towards democracy and human rights," says the German-Israeli psychologist and liberal Muslim Ahmad Mansour. Equality is just as important here as promoting one's own thinking and challenging traditions.

Whether or not there is such an Islam – rather reform-oriented – at any time, depends to a large extent on the ability of Islamic badociations to free themselves from the influence of the foreigner to l & # 39; future.